


To Catch the Storm

by OrionRedde, Shyrstyne



Series: Cometverse [5]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Flashback, Gen, Nonbinary Character, merlin and cid are mentioned, why we don't mess with wild magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 03:09:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17910866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionRedde/pseuds/OrionRedde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyrstyne/pseuds/Shyrstyne
Summary: You have a branching mass of scars that cover your arms. How did you get them? Or: you tell Sora how you got these scars, and why one shouldn't mess with wild magic unsupervised.





	To Catch the Storm

   “So how did you get those scars?”

   You raise your eyebrow. Sora blushes to his ears and ducks his head. You snort, putting up the glass tumblers in your hand. You don’t blame him for asking. It’s particularly warm, today, so you’ve taken your long-sleeved shirt off, leaving your arms bare. They’re  _ covered  _ in branching red marks, scars from long ago.

   “Did you know I can use magic?” you begin.

   “Oh, like Merlin?” Sora chirps, perking up. His blue eyes sparkle in excitement. “Can you turn people into frogs?”

   “Ha, no,” you laugh, enjoying Sora’s energy. “Not something that finicky. No, my magic relies less on what’s in me so much as what’s around me.”

   “Oh,” Sora sighs. He probably  _ really  _ wanted to see somebody turned into a frog.

   “I can throw lightning,” you tell him, not expecting him to be particularly impressed.

   “So?” he humphs, lacing his fingers behind his head as he leans back. “I can do that, too!”

   “Ah, so you can catch lightning from a thunderstorm?”

   Sora pauses.

   “Nooooo…?” he draws out, and you can tell that he’s interested.

   “I can,” you tell him, holding out your hand. Sparks, more potent and more difficult control than a  _ thunder  _ spell, dance and snap around your fingertips as you carefully form a crackling ball of lightning.

   “Woah!” Sora gasps, leaning forward but thankfully not touching. “How did you do that?”

   “You wanna hear how I got these scars?” you ask instead. “It ties in to how I can use it, I promise.”

   “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Sora enthuses, bouncing on his stool.

   “Alright, hold still,” you laugh. “It started about...mmh a year or two after we all arrived here. I’d found a book on weather magic and wanted to try some things for myself. Of course, nobody around me knew much magic, so I was on my own. And because I was on my own, nobody could tell me not to do certain things…”

 

\---(years ago)---

 

   The rain falls in thick, rippling sheets. The wind howls and angrily rattles and bangs at shutters and roofs. Lightning flashes and thunder roars outside, making the very air vibrate at the intensity. Anybody would be inside, huddled in bed, trying to sleep during all this ruckus.

   But not you.

   No, you were going to catch some lightning.

   You had waited until everybody, including Cid, had gone to bed. Then you waited, and waited, and waited. You waited for two whole hours, until you were  _ sure  _ everybody had gone to sleep. Then, you grabbed your escrima sticks, your raincoat, and your boots, and slipped out into the night.

   You sneak through the streets, keeping a close eye on the shadows. No heartless, and no people. Good, you weren’t looking for a fight. You head towards the clock tower, shivering despite your coat and boots. But also because you were  _ really excited.  _ You were going to catch lightning!!

   You arrive at the clocktower and take the stairs two at a time until you reach the very top of the tower accessible by stairs. You step out onto a balcony. The rain smells nice, the thunder rolls down into your very bones. You take a deep breath and duck back inside to look at your spellbook.

   “Okay, I got my foci,” your sticks, “and the circles, and the will.” You snap the book shut. “Now I just gotta call some lightning. I can do this!”

   You place the book and your cloak in a dry nook away from all the rain and step out onto the balcony again. You squint up into the storm, tracking it. Lightning flashes, and you count until thunder booms.

   “Almost here,” you whisper, shaking your arms to free them from the jitters. “Okay, okay, okay. Okay, Comet. Okay. Remember, when you catch it you go down through your belly and out through your other arm. You can do this. You got this!”

   The storm swirls over you. You take your stance, legs shoulder width-apart, knees slightly bent. You take a deep breath and lift your right hand up, two fingers extended. From within your heart, you  _ call. _

   The last thing you see is something bright lancing towards you, the last thing you feel is every single hair on your body standing up, the last thing you smell is ozone and rain.

   The last thing you think is  _ maybe I should’ve told somebody about this.  _

   And then all you can feel is pain.

   Pain pain pain pain  _ pain pain pain pain  _ **_pain pain pain paIN PAIN PAIN IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURT SHELPHELPHELP HE LP !!_ **

   Through the sheer  _ agony  _ you become aware of your body. It jerks and spasm on cold stone, breath short and ragged. You hurt you hurt you hurt you hurt you hurt. You still can’t see. Everything is white. 

   Release.

   You have to release!

   With a monumental effort, you fling your left hand into the sky and  _ release. _ You have enough control over your body to  _ scream  _ as  _ sheer, burning power  _ launches itself out of your body and back into the clouds. Your body stops seizing, settling into involuntary twitches as you collapse. You sob, open-mouthed cries and choked, heaving breaths. Your arms won’t work. You can barely move. Oh god. You hurt so bad. You sob again.

   “Mama,” you whine, voice breaking. “Mama…”

   But Mama isn’t here. Cid isn’t here. It’s just you.

   And you need to  _ get up. _

   Breathing heavily, jaw clenched, you roll onto your side. You hiss at the pressure it puts on your arms. You stick a thigh out to balance on one knee.

   “C’mon, Comet,” you growl to yourself. “You can do this. You just need to get inside.”

   You yell when, in one desperate push, you sit upright on your knees. You gasp, dizzy, then laugh, then sob. The rain falls in rivulets down your face as you tilt your head back and cry. 

   You’re alive.

   You’re  _ alive. _

   You make yourself calm down before you become hysterical.

   You can cry when you get inside.

   “Okay, one more, kiddo,” you encourage yourself. “Take it slow.”

   You bring one foot up, bringing you into a lunging position. You tuck your other foot in until you’re balanced on the toes. Awkwardly, because your arms are still strangely limp and tingling, you push yourself with your legs into a stand. Immediately, you sway, vision whiting out. Your chest hurts. Your lungs hurt. Your arms hurt but don’t at the same time and you don’t like it at all. Your belly is strangely warm. 

_    Don’t panic,  _ you think.  _ Don’t panic don’t panic don’t panic. You probably just barely missed your heart. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Get inside. _

   You manage to turn and limp inside, and then you’re using the wall as a support as you head back to your things.

   “Aw, heck, my cloak and book,” you hiss. “Maybe I can just…”

   You awkwardly put a foot on the small pile and will it to go to your inventory. The pile disappears with an almost cheerful  _ zwoop  _ noise.

   “Now I just gotta get home,” you sigh.

   The journey back is twice as long and three times more frightening. You jump at every bolt, every thunderclap, and every shadow. You’re incapable of defending yourself right now, with your arms still paralyzed. You’re almost home when lightning strikes nearby, almost right next to you. You shriek in terror and  _ run,  _ heart beating like a jack-rabbit. You  _ slam  _ into the garage door, but it doesn’t open.

   “Oh no,” you whisper, the grip you had on your emotions falling away like dried clay. “No, no, no, no no nonononono _ nononono!!” _

   Consumed by terror, you scream again, high and desperate, as you ram your useless shoulder against the door. You’re crying, face wet from rain and tears because you’re locked out it’s dark you’re hurting you’re helpless it’s  _ dark are those eyes oh god oh god oh god- _

   The door flies open and you stumble in, sobbing hysterically. Broad, calloused hands grasp your shoulders.

   “Comet!” a familiar, gruff voice barks. “Get a hold of yourself, kiddo, what happened!”

   You look up into Cid’s familiar face, gasping. His eyes widen.

   “By the ancients, kid,” he breathes. “What the hell happened to you?”

   You burst into fresh tears. Cid pulls you into a firm hug, rubbing your back as you cry.

   “C’mon, let’s get you to bed,” he murmurs. “I’ll give you a potion and a pain killer and we’ll figure something out in the morning.”

 

\---(present day)---

 

   “I couldn’t use my arms for almost two weeks,” you continue. Sora’s eyes are wide, enraptured. “Cid gave me hell for it, and of course the rest of the gang didn’t let me live it down once they stopped worrying so much about my health. See, I didn’t pull the lightning down where I should’ve. I kept it,” you pull your zipper down slightly to show your collarbone, “right here.”

   Smack dab between your clavicle and the very top of your sternum is where your scars meet and swirl together. It’s a tight ball of scar tissue, and it looks like the bolts have wrapped and tangled up in a wash cycle. After a moment you zip back up.

   “I didn’t try anything magical for another month after that,” you go on. “Scared me pretty good. But then another storm rolled in, and it was like somebody was standing outside of my window, calling for me to come out and play.”

   “And did you?” Sora asks eagerly.

   “Course I did,” you tell him, grinning. You omit that you didn’t give in until several storms later. Scared as your misstep had made you, you’d also realised you’d scared your family more, and didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. “Got my ass struck by lightning again, but I knew a little better that time, it felt more like I was being smacked on the back by a friend, not being smote for trying to control the weather.”

   “Wooow!” Sora crows. “I wanna be able to do that.”

   “Don’t,” you interrupt him firmly, glowering at him. “I almost died. We were lucky a specialized healer was available to help my heart, or I definitely would have died. Stick with the spells Merlin’s showing you, for now. Okay?”

   “Okay,” Sora sighs, slumping. 

   This kid is like a teeter totter of emotions, dang.

   “If you like, I can show you how to use your  _ thunder  _ spell a little better,” you offer. “Like how to wrap it around your keyblade, or even your fists.”

   “Yeah, that sounds awesome!” Sora chirps. “Thank you!”

   “Not a problem, kiddo. Let’s take this outside.”

   Hopefully, Sora will take your advice and not fuck around with natural forces. They’re rarely forgiving, and you know you’re only alive because of luck. You’ll take it as far as it can go.

**Author's Note:**

> Comet can use lightning magic! Maybe even a little bit of wind, but they're definitely more proficient in throwing around a bit of lightning. It's more of a gathering and directing what's around them than using MP, tbh. Don't try to catch lightning kids it'll fuck you up.


End file.
